A Journey Of Faith From Brazil

A Presbyterian missionary from the United States would set up a movie projector and other equipment in the dusty front yard of his grandfather’s home in Brazil, says Humberto Lopes.

Once everything was ready, the missionary who was also pastor of the local church would show a movie about Jesus.

When it finished, the missionary would present the gospel message to whomever was in the yard to listen, says Lopes, the newly named coordinator of the Office of Race Relations for the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) in Canada.

That missionary and other missionaries’ presented gospel messages in various places  that took hold, touching many people.

Reflecting on the journey that has brought him to Canada and to his current position, Lopes says the work and message presented by missionaries in Brazil influenced him as well. He was converted to Christianity and gave his heart to Jesus at a young age.

“The powerful influence of those missionaries, most of them long gone, still reverberates in my heart,” he says.

“Perhaps this is the reason I am so passionate about missions and the task of reaching out to people of different races, ethnic groups, and cultural expressions.”

Lopes has been in his new position for several weeks, helping to disseminate the work of the Office of Race Relations  in Canada.

The office promotes equality in the church and elsewhere among people of all races. It also encourages the CRCNA to make room for people who are minorities to be named to leadership positions of the church.

“Because God keeps his good teaching hand upon his children, I currently find myself stepping into a new role,” says Lopes.

Thirteen years ago, Lopes came to Canada and became a church planter and a minister of word and sacrament in the Reformed Church in America. He is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church of Brazil.

“I never in my life thought I would live and work in Canada. Now, I not only call it home, I also call it my mission field in North America,” he says.

Lopes, who is married and has two children, also never imagined that he would be serving the Christian Reformed Church in his current capacity—and yet he sees how his multicultural experiences in Brazil and Canada have prepared him for it.

God has helped him to see beyond race to the unity, common humanity and shared desire to know God who resides in all people.

“I describe my pastoral ministry as being driven by the desire to help others experience God’s love by being a channel for nurturing the spiritual development of God’s people,” he says.

Specifically, he has three main goals in his new job.

“First, this position, I am learning, requires passion, patience, and courage. I believe that the ministry of Race Relations is essential to the present and future of the CRCNA,” he says.

Today, more than ever, the religious and social landscape of North America, as well as the broader world, is in great flux. This means ministry requires people to be led by the Spirit, to be culturally intelligent, and to be passionate about the gospel.

In addition, he says, “empathy, respect, encouraging leadership, a prophetic voice, and a profound sense of hope are key elements of the Office of Race Relations.”

The mandate of the office is to help and challenge congregations to fulfill their calling to be places of refuge, salvation, and reconciliation.

“For me, the utmost challenge of this ministry, as we deal with and talk about race relations, ethnic relations, or social relations—with their similarities and singularities—is the work of dismantling the sinful barriers between the ‘other and I,’” he says.

“With unwise prejudice, we built walls of exclusion, but with wise counsel, Jesus calls us to dismantle them in the name of love.”

Finally, as he starts his new job, his greatest commitment is to learn and collaborate with churches, agencies, and offices of the CRCNA.

“My goal is to listen to the many voices, hear the stories, and be an encouraging presence within the CRCNA. It is my firm conviction that as God’s church, we must include the celebrative reality of God’s diverse family saved by His grace as a visible expression of who we are.”